Papa John's condemns endorsement from white supremacist publication

The founder of Papa John's pizza says the national anthem protests that have been prevalent in the National Football League this season is hurting business, and blames the league's leadership for the struggles.
Time

John Schnatter, of Papa John's Pizza places a pie in the oven in the kiitchen at the company's headquarters. By Pat McDonogh, The Courier-Journal. Jan. 26, 2016. [Via MerlinFTP Drop](Photo: Pat McDonogh, The Courier-Journal)

In the days following a rant by Papa John's CEO and Louisville resident John Schnatter where he blamed the NFL and anthem protests for low sales, a white-supremacist publication claimed it as their official pizza.

In a blog post at the Daily Stormer, a photo of pizza with pepperonis arranged in a swastika has a caption that reads "Papa John: Official pizza of the alt-right?"

"This might be the first time ever in modern history that a major institution is going to be completely destroyed explicitly because of public outrage over their anti-White agenda," Daily Stormer writer Adrian Sol said.

Peter Collins, the senior director of public relations at Papa John’s, said the company was taken off-guard by the endorsement.

“We condemn racism in all forms and any and all hate groups that support it," Collins told Courier Journal. "We do not want these individuals or groups to buy our pizza.”

Papa John's released third-quarter sales figures last week that show diminished rates of growth at established North American locations: 1.5% this year as opposed to a projected 2% to 4% increase. In 2016, North American sales increased 5.5% during the same period.

Papa John's NASDAQ shares fell 8.5% last week and are down 23% on the year as the company lowers its growth expectations.

The Daily Stormer endorsement follows a flood of criticism from other pizza companies as well.

Pizza Hut has said that protests in the NFL have not hurt sales, according to Business Insider.

"We're not seeing impact on any of that on our business," Greg Creed, CEO of Pizza Hut's parent company Yum Brands, said in a call with investors on Thursday. Yum Brands is headquartered in Louisville.

Digorno Pizza's Twitter account also took aim at the Louisville based pizza company.

"Better Pizza. Better Sales," Digornios tweeted.

Reach Reporter Thomas Novelly at 502-582-4465 or by email at tnovelly@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.​​​​​​​